Test to measure marriages

LONDON - Newlyweds can now take a test which will show with nearly 90 per cent accuracy whether they are destined for a long, happy marriage or a divorce within four to six years.

New research, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, shows that early marriages can be given "chance of survival" scores out of 10 based on how they discuss the history of their relationship, their courtship, their philosophy towards marriage and how their parent's marriages compare to their own.

Psychologists from the University of Washington have developed the "relationship test" to determine why some marriages flourish while others end in divorce. They have proved it can predict with 87 per cent accuracy which newlywed couples will remain married and which will divorce four to six years later. The test is also 81 per cent accurate in predicting which marriages will survive after seven to nine years.

Being able to answer instantly questions such as "What first attracted you to your partner?" with flattering descriptions about their personality and appearance, or finishing each other's sentences are a good grounding for a successful marriage, according to the test. While couples who argue about the history of their relationship, or who can only remember how hard it was to get together, are on dangerous ground.

The test is based on previous work by John Gottmann, a professor of psychology who developed the Oral History Interview. This new "relationship tool," however, focuses on the way people answer the questions rather than on what they say.

Researchers interviewed 95 couples in the first six months of marriage. By the end of the study 16 had divorced. For nine years the couples were monitored. Between 1993 and 1998, follow-up telephone interviews and questionnaires were administered. In 1995 and 1998, the researchers looked at which were married and divorced.

"The happiest couples are speaking almost in one voice because they are so tuned into each other's wants and desires," said researcher Dr Sybil Carrere. "With the unhappiest couples there is no symmetry. There is no respect for each other. A lot of couples neglect the friendship in marriage and it erodes over time. When you neglect friendship, the positive perceptual filter you have about your partner begins to fail."

- INDEPENDENT